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One massive decision is holding up the remainder of the New York Giants’ offseason, and it revolves around star tight end Darren Waller and his potential retirement.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan on May 15, “the Giants have $6 million in cap space, according to the NFLPA.” He added that this figure “doesn’t include their draft class, which will account for roughly $6 million on the cap.”
How is this relevant to Waller’s impending crossroads?
“If Waller retires (or is released) before June 1, the Giants would create $6.7 million in cap savings while eating $7.4 million in dead money,” Duggan informed. “If Waller retires after June 1, the Giants would create $11.6 million in cap savings while eating $2.5 million in dead money this year and $4.9 million in dead money in 2025.”
Needless to say, June 1 is an important date for Big Blue and Waller — who Duggan called “genuinely undecided about his future.”
Bleacher Report’s Kris Knox suggested a signing that could serve as Waller “insurance” on May 13. Of course, a better word for this free agent addition might be “replacement,” considering the Giants probably won’t ink another veteran tight end unless Waller is already off the books.
“The Giants could also use insurance at tight end, as 2023 addition Darren Waller continues to mull retirement,” Knox wrote within the article. “An experienced pass-catcher like Robert Tonyan Jr. would provide solid depth alongside Daniel Bellinger and rookie fourth-round pick Theo Johnson.”
Ex-Packers’ Robert Tonyan Could Sign for Cheap Coming off Down Season With Bears
Tonyan has spent the majority of his career with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. After a breakout 586 receiving yards — plus 82 yards in the playoffs and 12 total touchdowns — in 2020, the former undrafted prospect regressed to 204 receiving yards in 2021 and 470 in 2022.
His worst season since 2019 came last year with the Chicago Bears, however, as Tonyan was stuck behind rising star Cole Kmet on the depth chart. Based on that 112-yard output in 2023 and Tonyan’s age (30 years old in April), it stands to reason that the 6-foot-5 target could sign for cheap.
Over the Cap lists his past two contracts at one year, $3.75 million and one year, $2.65 million. And although each deal paid out the full total, Tonyan was only guaranteed amounts of $1 million and $1.25 million at signing.
That’s the type of bargain shopping that the Giants could be interested in as Johnson learns the ropes in year one. Of course, it’s all dependent on Waller hanging up the cleats in 2024.
Latest Retirement Update From Giants Tight End Darren Waller
Speaking at the Carrier Clinic at Hackensack Meridian Health’s flagship behavioral health campus on April 26, Waller told Duggan that he still had not come to a decision on his NFL future.
“It’s just evaluating my overall commitment level,” the 31-year-old explained. “I don’t feel like it’s fair to my teammates, fair to the franchise, fair to people that support it to have somebody out there that isn’t 100% committed to the entire journey from April to February.”
Waller also confirmed that he has been training as he normally would, just in case he decides to run it back for one more year.
In his first season with the Giants in 2023, Waller was on the field for 12 outings. Over that span of games, he caught 52 of 74 targets for 552 receiving yards and one touchdown. This was the fourth-best receiving total of his career.
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